Internet Sabbath: The Digital Detox We’re All Desperately Avoiding

Allow me some attribution first. The term Internet Sabbath is derived from “Technology Shabbat” or “Tech Shabbat,” which is a concept modeled on the traditional Jewish Shabbat, which was coined in 2010 by Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg to describe a day of rest or cessation from technology with screens. 

The Internet Sabbath( can also be called Digital Detox) is where you refrain from network technology for 12 hours(or one day in a week). In the same way that the Sabbath in the Hebrew Bible induces a period of quiet and reflection well suited to appreciate God and his works, the Internet Sabbath is meant to remind us of what we miss when we are glued to a screen. No emails, no doom scrolling, no pretending to work while secretly watching cat videos. Just you, real life, and maybe a book that isn’t lit by LED.

Without any coercion or bribe, we have willingly donned the digital straitjacket. So, if we are labeled as digital junkies, thats a fitting pseudonym.

Our phones are the first thing we check in the morning and the last thing we see before bed. The average Indian smartphone user now clocks a jaw-dropping 4.7 hours daily on their device. Americans? Even worse at 5.4 hours. That’s nearly one-third of our waking lives!

“But Suresh,” you protest, “I need to be connected for work/family/the latest memes about existential dread!”

A candid confession. I hear you. I’m typing this blog post on a laptop while simultaneously checking WhatsApp notifications on my phone and streaming a documentary about—ironically—digital minimalism on my tablet. My hypocrisy should not be lost on me at least, isn’t it?

The irony that you’re reading this digital warning on a digital device isn’t lost on me. We’re all navigating this new territory together, trying to balance the undeniable benefits of connectivity with the very real costs to our mental health, relationships, and ability to sit quietly with our thoughts for more than 30 seconds without reaching for a device.

Your brain has officially been downgraded to “buffering.” Your thumb has more mileage than your car. And if one more app says “Are you still watching?” the answer is NO. I’m just rotting in digital purgatory, thanks.

As my 78-year-old uncle (a recent but enthusiastic WhatsApp addict) wisely noted: “In my day, we were unreachable most of the time, and somehow the world kept spinning.”

But perhaps that’s exactly why we need an Internet Sabbath—even a short one. Not because technology is evil, but because we need to remember that we control it, not the other way around.

An Internet Sabbath isn’t about rejecting tech; it’s about reclaiming choice.

We check our phones over 100 times a day. And brush our teeth twice(probably?). Priorities people? Contrary to what this might look like, this isn’t about going full hermit, renouncing Instagram, and raising goats in the Himalayas(Though… tempting, no?).

It’s about switching off to switch on. A Digital Detox—because let’s call a spade(or even a shovel), our dopamine receptors are fried, our thumbs have muscle memory for doom scrolling, and somewhere between your 478th WhatsApp forward and that 1 a.m. YouTube rabbit hole on ” how to fold a T Shirt in 6 seconds” or “how to escape a crocodile attack,” you lost your mind.

Digital Detoxes aren’t new. (Old)Monks were doing it before it was cool. Now the capitalist industrial complex hawks it with retreats, scented candles and hashtags that go #MindfulUnplugging. There’s even a place in Goa that offers “Digital Fasting” packages. Ironic, because they first DM you the brochure. Pot calling the kettle black anyone?

The great irony is that ” We are More Connected Than Ever ” and ” We Have Never Been More Disconnected Than Ever “.

The internet stayed true to its promise. Freedom. Or so we think. What we have is anxiety, insomnia, attention span of a fruit fly, and phantom phone vibrations that feel more real than your last relationship. Most of us are like a dopamine-deprived lab rat smashing the refresh button for crumbs of validation.

So, who’s the Knight in Shining Armor? Enter Digital Detox! NOT just a fancy phrase tossed around by kombucha-drinking tech bros in Silicon Valley or Goa or gyaan-quoting Insta therapists. It’s a survival tool. For your sanity. For your sleep. For your serotonin. And no, this doesn’t mean deleting every app and going off-grid like a cult fugitive.

It means pressing pause. Before life presses delete.

You don’t need to be weightlifter to weigh the pros and cons of Digital Detox. But yes, be ready to be surprised. You start doing things that you have never done in a long time. You start thinking again. And get membership into the mental gymnastics club. You make friends with your worst enemy a k a Sleep. Not the “just-one-more-reel-then-I’ll-sleep” kind. Actual REM(Rapid Eye Motion), baby. You begin to acknowledge(and use) an integral part of your anatomy. Your legs. Yes, you start walking. Go outside. Where birds live, chirp. You begin to make sense of your sensory organs viz tongue, eyes. You start having real conversations. And make eye contact while doing so. Hence, human decency makes a comeback.

Every coin has two sides. So, flip it and we could encounter some of these as well. You might hit the panic button. What if I miss a meme? Or a scandal? Or Alia Bhatt’s new skincare line??? People may actually talk to you. In real life. With breath. Yes, TALK. Be strong. It’s normal. No more hiding behind ‘busy ‘. You get real with your feelings. Not the reel ones. Thats perfectly fine. To err, is human.

Internet Sabbath: Yes please. Because your brain called. It wants a restraining order from your phone.

Internet Sabbath: Yes please. Because your soul is on airplane mode. And you are yet to notice it. 

Internet Sabbath: Because real life? It’s not clickable. It’s not filtered. It’s freaking magical—if you dare to look up.

Time to log out of your screen, log into your senses.

Here’s your sign.Take a break from the noise. Close the 42 tabs in your mind.Touch grass. Stare at the sky. Kiss your dog. Or your partner. Or your reflection, you narcissist.

Statutory Warning: May cause increased peace, clarity, and actual happiness. Side effects include making eye contact and rediscovering sunsets.